For 43 harvests, farmer has relied on faith

July 21, 2009|By Amy Bickel, The Hutchinson News, Kan.

Jeff Stucky never will forget the feeling when he walked into his wheat fields 43 years ago this June, finding what would have been his, and wife Vivian's, first harvest pounded by hail. Anyone would have been discouraged to see their annual paycheck broken on the ground. But the third-generation Castleton farmer said he knew he'd get by, Lord willing. "You trust the Lord to take care of you," said Stucky, 64. "The Lord knows how much money you need." And, for 43 harvests, "We've always made it." He told the story nonchalantly as he guided a John Deere combine through a patch of wheat near his home recently. He admits he gets a little antsy to get into the field as harvest nears. He's also ready for it to be over. His wheat crop this year has mild hail damage from a series of thunderstorms. He doesn't want to wake up after another thunderstorm and find his crop flattened. "It's time to just get it done," Stucky said, adding that with temperatures nearing the triple digits, "it's perfect harvest weather." Over the years, there were other hailstorms and inclement weather that took a toll on his fields. But there have been plenty of good stands, too. Moreover, Stucky said he couldn't imagine being in another profession. Farming runs thick in his blood. His great-grandfather probably was a farmer in Russia before coming to Kansas. Stucky wasn't old enough to have a driver's license when he first started driving the wheat truck to the local elevator. But bringing in the state's wheat crop has been part of his life ever since. "I couldn't imagine doing anything else," Stucky said. "A job in town -- I would probably only last two hours." Or two minutes, he says with a chuckle. But while three generations have farmed the land, Stucky wonders if he'll be the last. His son, Corby, 37, helps him part time. "It's so expensive to get into farming," said Corby Stucky, who drove the grain cart, adding that someday it will be just a handful of farmers harvesting the area's land. Farmers also never know what the crop is going to make. "I'll be happy if we get 30 to 35 bushels this year," Jeff Stucky said. Someday he'll start to slow down, he said. But for now, Stucky forges on. He has nearly 1,500 acres of wheat ripe for the cutting awaiting him in the fields surrounding his farm.